A grateful voter

I felt a little giddy as I set out to vote in the presidential election. It was a first for me — I had been denied the right to vote in my native Pakistan. I belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. which has been disenfranchised in Pakistan. The United States has offered me abundant freedoms. The right to vote tops the list.

As I cast the ballot, I was struck that the hyped-up anti-Islam sentiments after 9/11 have not hampered my freedoms, whereas the country of my birth has ostracized me and declared me a non-Muslim. The U.S. Constitution is more aligned with the true Islamic values of governance — justice, fairness and the guarantee of basic rights for all regardless of religious and ethnic affiliations.

Mansura Bashir Minhas, Hollywood

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‘First 48’ exploits victims of crime

Thank you for your recent coverage of the city of Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa’s decision not to renew a contract with the reality show The First 48. For years the show’s film crew has roamed the streets of Miami’s urban communities searching for victims of homicide to feature on their show.
Spiritual or religious?

Martin Slater’s May 17 letter, Changing beliefs, responding to Myriam Marquez’s May 12 column makes the common mistake of equating religion and spirituality. While religions encourage the development of our spiritual sense, religious dogmas are unnecessary to cultivate one’s own sense of spirituality. Many nonreligious individuals are highly spiritual, keenly in tune with their inner-self and the concept of a creative universal force.
DCF is disgraceful

Re the May 21 article DCF deemed boy safe before he was left in vehicle: It’s unbelievable that the Department of Children & Families would do absolutely nothing about a woman who reportedly was drunk and driving, hitting walls and passing out while her young son was in the car untethered.

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